Description
Mailster AmazonSES Integration connects Amazon Simple Email Service (Amazon SES) to the Mailster Newsletter Plugin for WordPress so you can send campaigns and transactional mail through AWS instead of your web host’s mail server.
Use it when you want scalable, pay-as-you-go newsletter delivery on Amazon SES while keeping Mailster’s campaign editor, lists, and automation.
This plugin requires Mailster 4.0 or newer and an Amazon Web Services (AWS) account with Amazon SES (and optionally Amazon SNS for bounce notifications). Outgoing email content and delivery metadata are sent to Amazon SES. When Amazon SNS bounce handling is enabled, bounce and complaint notifications are received from AWS.
Why send Mailster newsletters with Amazon SES?
- Amazon SES delivery for Mailster — Register AmazonSES as a delivery method under Newsletter Settings Delivery.
- WEB API or SMTP — Send via the recommended SES WEB API, or use the SES SMTP interface with TLS or SSL when you prefer SMTP credentials.
- AWS access keys and regions — Configure your Access Key and Secret Key and choose from supported SES regions (for example N. Virginia, Ireland, Frankfurt, Tokyo, and others listed in the settings).
- Verified identities — Check whether Mailster’s From, Reply-To, and Bounce addresses are verified in SES, and start email identity verification from the settings screen.
- Auto-update send limits — Optionally sync Mailster’s send limits with your Amazon SES sending quota (recommended).
- Bounce handling — Use Mailster’s built-in bounce settings, or handle bounces and complaints via Amazon SNS for more reliable feedback.
How it works
- Install and activate Mailster AmazonSES Integration alongside Mailster 4.0+.
- Create IAM access keys for SES and verify your sending domain or email identities in the AWS SES console. New SES accounts start in sandbox mode until you request production access.
- Open Newsletter Settings Delivery, select the AmazonSES tab, enter your credentials and region, and save.
- Choose WEB API or SMTP, optionally enable automatic send-limit updates, and configure bounce handling (Mailster or Amazon SNS).
- Send a test email, then run your Mailster campaigns through Amazon SES.
Setup walkthrough: Send your newsletters via Amazon’s SES. Addon overview: mailster.co.
Screenshots
Installation
- Upload the entire
mailster-amazonsesfolder to the/wp-content/plugins/directory, or install from the WordPress plugins screen. - Activate the plugin through the Plugins menu in WordPress.
- Make sure Mailster 4.0+ is installed and active.
- In AWS, create SES-capable IAM access keys, verify your domain or From address, and request production access if you need to send to unverified recipients.
- Go to Settings Newsletter Delivery, open the AmazonSES tab, enter your Access Key, Secret Key, and region, then save.
- Choose WEB API (recommended) or SMTP, configure bounce handling if needed, and send a test email.
For Amazon SNS bounce setup, follow Handling bounces with AmazonSNS.
FAQ
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Does this plugin work without Mailster?
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No. This is a delivery addon for the Mailster Newsletter Plugin and requires Mailster 4.0 or newer.
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Do I need an AWS account?
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Yes. You need an AWS account with Amazon SES enabled, IAM access keys that can use SES, and verified email or domain identities for the addresses you send from.
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What is the difference between WEB API and SMTP?
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WEB API (recommended) sends through the Amazon SES API. SMTP uses Amazon SES SMTP credentials over TLS (port 587) or SSL (port 465). Both options are available in the AmazonSES delivery settings.
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Why can’t I send to my subscribers yet?
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New Amazon SES accounts are often in sandbox mode and can only send to verified addresses. Request production access in AWS, and verify your From domain or email identities in SES.
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Can Mailster handle SES bounces automatically?
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Yes. You can keep Mailster’s bounce settings, or switch bounce handling to Amazon SNS and subscribe your site’s endpoint to SES bounce and complaint notifications. See the Amazon SNS bounce guide.
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Is email data sent to a third party?
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Yes. When this delivery method is active, Mailster sends email content and related delivery data to Amazon SES so messages can be delivered. If you enable Amazon SNS bounce handling, AWS sends bounce and complaint notifications to your WordPress site’s endpoint.
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Where can I get support?
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For Mailster and this addon, see mailster.co and the SES setup guide. For AWS account, billing, and SES console questions, use AWS documentation.
Reviews
Contributors & Developers
“Mailster AmazonSES Integration” is open source software. The following people have contributed to this plugin.
Contributors
Translate “Mailster AmazonSES Integration” into your language.
Interested in development?
Browse the code, check out the SVN repository, or subscribe to the development log by RSS.
Changelog
3.0.0
- fixed: embedded images broken in Outlook/Thunderbird when using WEB API with a long From domain (Content-ID Q-encoding)
- changed: AWS SDK for PHP (SesV2 and STS) is built via Composer and Strauss into a prefixed
Mailster\Aws3\tree instead of a committed vendor copy - changed: requires PHP 8.1 or newer; compatible with PHP 8.4 and 8.5
- improved: admin notice on PHP versions below 8.1 so Mailster delivery settings do not fatally error
2.16.0
- fixed: missing settings in the settings page
2.15.0
- fixed: error with missing $Version property in PHPMailer
2.14.0
- updated tested up to
- requires now PHP 7.4
- requires now Mailster 4.0
- requires now WordPress 6.0
- code improvements
2.13.0
- updated third party libraries
- fixes for PHP 8.2
- now requires PHP 7.2.5+
2.12.0
- updated third party libraries
2.11.0
- added missing regions
2.10
- update for Mailster 3.0
2.9
- improved bounce handling on Transient – General bounces
2.8.1
- fixed file path issues
2.8
- added: 4 new regions: California, Paris, Stockholm, Bahrain
- better formatting for error messages
2.7
- do not resend campaigns on some soft bounces (transients) as it causes more complaints
- small bug fixes and improvements
2.6
- make sure SNS region is the same as defined in the settings.
- small bug fixes
2.5.1
- fixed: respect ‘Update Limits’ options
2.5
- added additional 4 endpoints: Ohio, Seoul, Singapore, Tokyo
2.4.2
- fixed: respect ‘Update Limits’ options
2.4.1
- fixed: SVN issue during update
2.4
- brings back missing regions.
2.3
- revert back to 2.1 state caused by conflicts with third party plugins. If you rely on one of these endpoints please wait to update until we got that sorted:
- Asia Pacific (Mumbai)
- Asia Pacific (Sydney)
- Canada (Central)
- Europe (Frankfurt)
- Europe (London)
- South America (São Paulo)
2.2.2
- fixed: error on ListEmailIdentities method
2.2.1
- fixed: error handling on getting account details
2.2
- fixed: updated authentication method for new endpoints
2.1
- updated: more endpoints are now available
2.0
- New: Handle Bounces via AmazonSNS
1.2
- improved resource handling if method is not enabled
- changed file structure
1.1.2
- improved routine to prevent duplicates
1.1.1
- increased request timeout to prevent false positives
1.1
- added support for BCC on WEB API
1.0
- initial release